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Side-by-side financial comparison of COMMUNITY FINANCIAL SYSTEM, INC. (CBU) and LINCOLN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES CORP (LINC). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

COMMUNITY FINANCIAL SYSTEM, INC. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($214.5M vs $142.9M, roughly 1.5× LINCOLN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES CORP). COMMUNITY FINANCIAL SYSTEM, INC. runs the higher net margin — 26.7% vs 8.9%, a 17.8% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, LINCOLN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES CORP posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (19.7% vs 8.7%). Over the past eight quarters, LINCOLN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES CORP's revenue compounded faster (17.6% CAGR vs 7.9%).

Community Health Systems (CHS) is a Fortune 500 company based in Franklin, Tennessee. It was the largest provider of general hospital healthcare services in the United States in terms of number of acute care facilities. In 2014, CHS had around 200 hospitals, but the number had declined to around 85 in 2021.

Lincoln Tech is an American group of for-profit postsecondary vocational institutions headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey with campuses in Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Texas. Each campus is owned and operated by Lincoln Educational Services Corporation, a provider of career-oriented post-secondary education.

CBU vs LINC — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
CBU
CBU
1.5× larger
CBU
$214.5M
$142.9M
LINC
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
LINC
LINC
+11.0% gap
LINC
19.7%
8.7%
CBU
Higher net margin
CBU
CBU
17.8% more per $
CBU
26.7%
8.9%
LINC
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
LINC
LINC
Annualised
LINC
17.6%
7.9%
CBU

Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
CBU
CBU
LINC
LINC
Revenue
$214.5M
$142.9M
Net Profit
$57.2M
$12.7M
Gross Margin
62.3%
Operating Margin
12.4%
Net Margin
26.7%
8.9%
Revenue YoY
8.7%
19.7%
Net Profit YoY
15.3%
85.9%
EPS (diluted)
$1.15
$0.41

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
CBU
CBU
LINC
LINC
Q1 26
$214.5M
Q4 25
$217.0M
$142.9M
Q3 25
$208.1M
$141.4M
Q2 25
$200.5M
$116.5M
Q1 25
$197.3M
$117.5M
Q4 24
$197.4M
$119.4M
Q3 24
$190.3M
$114.4M
Q2 24
$184.3M
$102.9M
Net Profit
CBU
CBU
LINC
LINC
Q1 26
$57.2M
Q4 25
$54.4M
$12.7M
Q3 25
$55.1M
$3.8M
Q2 25
$51.3M
$1.6M
Q1 25
$49.6M
$1.9M
Q4 24
$49.8M
$6.8M
Q3 24
$43.9M
$4.0M
Q2 24
$47.9M
$-682.0K
Gross Margin
CBU
CBU
LINC
LINC
Q1 26
Q4 25
62.3%
Q3 25
59.5%
Q2 25
59.8%
Q1 25
59.7%
Q4 24
62.2%
Q3 24
58.0%
Q2 24
55.7%
Operating Margin
CBU
CBU
LINC
LINC
Q1 26
Q4 25
33.1%
12.4%
Q3 25
35.2%
4.4%
Q2 25
32.9%
2.5%
Q1 25
32.6%
2.9%
Q4 24
32.7%
9.2%
Q3 24
30.0%
5.1%
Q2 24
33.7%
-1.1%
Net Margin
CBU
CBU
LINC
LINC
Q1 26
26.7%
Q4 25
25.1%
8.9%
Q3 25
26.5%
2.7%
Q2 25
25.6%
1.3%
Q1 25
25.1%
1.7%
Q4 24
25.2%
5.7%
Q3 24
23.1%
3.5%
Q2 24
26.0%
-0.7%
EPS (diluted)
CBU
CBU
LINC
LINC
Q1 26
$1.15
Q4 25
$1.03
$0.41
Q3 25
$1.04
$0.12
Q2 25
$0.97
$0.05
Q1 25
$0.93
$0.06
Q4 24
$0.94
$0.22
Q3 24
$0.83
$0.13
Q2 24
$0.91
$-0.02

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
CBU
CBU
LINC
LINC
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$572.2M
$28.5M
Total DebtLower is stronger
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$2.0B
$199.7M
Total Assets
$17.5B
$493.2M
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
CBU
CBU
LINC
LINC
Q1 26
$572.2M
Q4 25
$301.8M
$28.5M
Q3 25
$245.2M
$13.5M
Q2 25
$237.2M
$16.7M
Q1 25
$518.0M
$28.7M
Q4 24
$197.0M
$59.3M
Q3 24
$346.1M
$54.0M
Q2 24
$201.5M
$67.0M
Total Debt
CBU
CBU
LINC
LINC
Q1 26
Q4 25
Q3 25
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
$990.2M
Q3 24
Q2 24
Stockholders' Equity
CBU
CBU
LINC
LINC
Q1 26
$2.0B
Q4 25
$2.0B
$199.7M
Q3 25
$1.9B
$185.9M
Q2 25
$1.9B
$180.7M
Q1 25
$1.8B
$177.8M
Q4 24
$1.8B
$178.3M
Q3 24
$1.8B
$170.0M
Q2 24
$1.7B
$164.9M
Total Assets
CBU
CBU
LINC
LINC
Q1 26
$17.5B
Q4 25
$17.3B
$493.2M
Q3 25
$17.0B
$466.9M
Q2 25
$16.7B
$447.3M
Q1 25
$16.8B
$427.4M
Q4 24
$16.4B
$436.6M
Q3 24
$16.4B
$404.0M
Q2 24
$15.9B
$366.4M
Debt / Equity
CBU
CBU
LINC
LINC
Q1 26
Q4 25
Q3 25
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
0.56×
Q3 24
Q2 24

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
CBU
CBU
LINC
LINC
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$43.5M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$25.0M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
17.5%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
13.0%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
3.43×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$-27.3M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
CBU
CBU
LINC
LINC
Q1 26
Q4 25
$301.9M
$43.5M
Q3 25
$101.1M
$23.9M
Q2 25
$53.7M
$299.0K
Q1 25
$62.5M
$-8.4M
Q4 24
$242.3M
$30.3M
Q3 24
$56.9M
$5.6M
Q2 24
$39.8M
$8.3M
Free Cash Flow
CBU
CBU
LINC
LINC
Q1 26
Q4 25
$233.3M
$25.0M
Q3 25
$83.4M
$2.0M
Q2 25
$36.4M
$-26.1M
Q1 25
$52.0M
$-28.3M
Q4 24
$221.6M
$5.5M
Q3 24
$51.9M
$-13.8M
Q2 24
$33.8M
$-2.7M
FCF Margin
CBU
CBU
LINC
LINC
Q1 26
Q4 25
107.5%
17.5%
Q3 25
40.1%
1.4%
Q2 25
18.1%
-22.4%
Q1 25
26.3%
-24.1%
Q4 24
112.2%
4.6%
Q3 24
27.3%
-12.0%
Q2 24
18.3%
-2.6%
Capex Intensity
CBU
CBU
LINC
LINC
Q1 26
Q4 25
31.6%
13.0%
Q3 25
8.5%
15.5%
Q2 25
8.6%
22.7%
Q1 25
5.3%
16.9%
Q4 24
10.5%
20.8%
Q3 24
2.6%
16.9%
Q2 24
3.3%
10.7%
Cash Conversion
CBU
CBU
LINC
LINC
Q1 26
Q4 25
5.55×
3.43×
Q3 25
1.84×
6.29×
Q2 25
1.05×
0.19×
Q1 25
1.26×
-4.31×
Q4 24
4.87×
4.43×
Q3 24
1.30×
1.42×
Q2 24
0.83×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

CBU
CBU

Segment breakdown not available.

LINC
LINC

Transferred Over Time$136.0M95%
Transferred At Point In Time$6.9M5%

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